Tale of a Dragon
by ThatViolentAttorney
Summary: After being saved by the notorious urban legend, the Red Dragon, Ichigo is hellbent on finding out who she is. Meanwhile, Ichigo's childhood friend Kasai Ryunosuke is hellbent on stopping him; she wants nothing more to protect him, but how can she, a lowly human, protect a Soul Reaper? IchigoxOC, possibly other pairings. Rated T for safety, may go up. Please enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Protection

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><p>She was the Red Dragon riding on horseback; her wings opened to the cold, stabbing air of the night. She was always dressed in black; black jeans, black leather jacket and black helmet on a black Harley Davidson. Only certain men knew what lethality rested underneath the black helmet, and only they would know the truth of the woman nick-named 'the Red Dragon'. Others knew her as an urban legend; a suspicious person whom they would not like to meet down a dark alley – lest they meet their demise – they knew not of the destruction and horror of a woman like her.<p>

Those were the thoughts of Ichigo Kurosaki, as he rode on that very same bike, holding the waist of the Red Dragon who he'd heard of in the urban legend. He could quote word for word what Keigo told him every time they would see her as they walked home with their friends in the dead of the night, as the black motorcycle – the one he was currently riding – zoomed past suddenly.

Nobody knew where the start of such an urban legend began, or who created it, all they knew was that the Red Dragon should never, under any circumstances, be approached.

So why was Ichigo Kurosaki, a teenager who just wanted peace in his life, doing what he knew was the exact opposite?

The bike rode into the night, not quite silent, but the engine gave a soft roar that could only be achieved by a motorcycle expert, and even though Ichigo knew he should be at least a little concerned about his current situation; he wasn't. He felt oddly safe. It was unlike him, considering he was wearing any protective clothing or a helmet, oh and the fact that he's riding with the Red Dragon. He had no idea where the mysterious woman was taking him – she could just take him down a dark alley and slit his throat!

But then why did she save him back there?

That's the question Ichigo was asking himself; if she intended to harm him – why did she save him from being beaten up by a group of 20-30 odd thugs? Not that he wasn't able to handle himself if she hadn't come to his rescue; he could just go all Shinigami on their asses and be done with it…but instead she rode through the pack and ushered him to get on and rode off. The men surrounding him backed off in fear of the dark and dangerous woman.

The bike zig-zagged through the familiar streets of Karakura town, until finally coming to a stop outside of his house. Ichigo climbed off of the motorbike and faced the stranger.

"Thanks for the-" he was cut off, for she had sped off into the night. Ichigo watched as she faded into the darkness all-too-quickly, before he headed inside his house.

That night, Ichigo couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned, trying to wrap his head around the mysterious Red Dragon. She wasn't much of an urban legend, unlike some of the ones he knew as a child – she wasn't some psycho-murderer ghost. Her urban legend didn't speak of much, just the undeniable terror of what lay beyond the helmet. Some said she had no face, some said she had the face of the Open-Mouthed Woman. No-one really knew.

But then Ichigo thought; someone must know what lies beyond that mask. Someone must know who the Red Dragon really is and what she looks like.

Little did Ichigo know, the answer to his thoughts were closer to home than he could have ever predicted.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Mizuiro," Ichigo began as he walked to school with Mizuiro the next day, "you heard of the Red Dragon?"<p>

"Of course I have! Everyone has! You can't be a citizen of Karakura town and not know about the Red Dragon!" his friend laughed in response.

"Yeah, well, have you ever wondered what she looks like?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, everyone wants to know. But why the sudden interest?"

Ichigo shrugged, thinking about telling Mizuiro about what he saw last night but decided against it. "I dunno."

"Some people say she's the Open-Mouthed woman, but I highly doubt that – the Red Dragon doesn't wear a trench coat, unless the Open-Mouthed woman suddenly decided to upgrade to a leather jacket and an awesome motorcycle." Mizuiro said.

"Yeah, I highly doubt those two urban legends are related in anyway other than that they're women. But do you ever wonder why the Red Dragon's called the Red Dragon?" Ichigo asked.

"I heard it was because this one guy that really pissed her off saw some sort of demonic aura that looked like a Red Dragon and that's how she got the name."

"What was she called before?"

"No one knows. The guy that started the Red Dragon legend was the same guy that pissed her off, apparently."

"Are you two talking about that urban legend?" Uryu asked, as he approached. He pushed his glasses up in what Ichigo calls 'that obnoxious way of his'.

"Yeah, what's your opinion on it?" Mizuiro asked.

"If I had an opinion, I'm fairly sure she'd kill me for it." Uryu chuckled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ichigo asked.

"Nothing." Uryu pushed his glasses up again.

* * *

><p>As Ichigo was training with the football team, Karakura High was raided by the gang from yesterday. They stood by the gates, refusing anyone to leave until they had Ichigo Kurosaki's head.<p>

"Why does this feel like Déjà vu?" he sighed, Uryu and Chad were on the scene as well.

"Well, well, well – Kurosaki!" the 'man' who Ichigo assumed to be the leader stepped forward, "Did you really think that just 'coz the Red Dragon saved your pathetic ass yesterday, we'd give up like that? And if you're hoping for the Urban Legend to show up, I doubt she would – she only turns up at night!" he roared with laughter, as did his gang.

"I don't need an Urban Legend to save my ass; I would've been fine without her stepping in." Ichigo replied.

"You met the Red Dragon?" Uryu asked.

"Yeah, long story." Ichigo replied.

"You're a cocky strawberry, ain't ya?! Big talk for someone without a gang, or weapons." He grinned, brandishing a small pocket-knife.

"You're a cocky idiot; big talk for someone without a brain!" a female voice yelled from behind Ichigo.

The voice belonged to a girl in the year bellow him; Kasai Ryunosuke. She was a punk with flaming red hair, who wore black spikes in her ear lobes, with smaller black spikes running up her right ear. Kasai was actually the same age as Ichigo, but because she had missed so much school she had been forced to repeat the year. She was fairly petite, and wore the regular Karakura Uniform, but with her sleeves rolled up, and she wore black, fishnet tights instead of socks and a pair of black, lace-up boots on your feet.

"Who do you think you are, little bitch?! Talking down to me like that!" the leader roared, but his speech fell upon deaf ears, for she let out a battle cry and kicked him in the stomach – sending him flying into his gang.

"Thanks, Kasai-san, but you don't need to get involved." Ichigo told the seething red head.

"It's no biggie," she replied, smirking at him, "I owe you, after all." She winked, as she headed into the mass of gang members, along with Ichigo, Chad and Uryu. Between the four of them, they got rid of them all.

"Well that was fun." She said, watching the last few run away.

"Not really." Ichigo sighed.

"Kasai-san, why did you join in?" Uryu asked.

"Oh, I owe Ichigo from when he saved my ass this one time." She told him.

"You're a good fighter." Ichigo praised the punk-girl.

"Thanks, years of practice." She laughed.

"Ryunosuke! Where've you been?!" one of the teachers yelled at the redhead.

"Crap, I forgot I was supposed to be in detention." She slapped her forehead.

"How do you forget that?" Uryu asked.

"I'm a ninja, anyway, catch you dorks later!" She called over her shoulder as she ran to the teacher.

"AT LEAST WE DORKS AREN'T BEING HELD BACK A YEAR!" Ichigo yelled.

"GET LOST, DORK-BERRY!"

Kasai enjoyed banter with Ichigo; it was one of the only things keeping her sane. Kasai and Ichigo had been friends for a good few years, and she remembered first meeting him at the Graveyard when they were both ten years old; he was standing in front of his Mother's grave, as she walked away from cleaning the graves of her own parents. After that, they both became friends – she protected him from bullies for the most part, but eventually Ichigo became stronger than Kasai and their roles reversed as she started to get beaten up by various people.

And then they both turned fourteen, and everything changed.

Kasai had been on the path of delinquency for a long time, it was in the blood of her wretched father after all, and eventually she joined a gang. Kasai found the gang-life was quite fun, but she strayed away from Ichigo as she started missing more and more school, and then he started missing loads as well, and she had feared he'd joined the gang life, but he hadn't.

He'd joined a much darker, bloodier and more dangerous life; the life of a Shinigami.

Now, how was Kasai supposed to protect the boy she loved from that?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Birth

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><p><em>7 Years Ago:<em>

_A ten-year old Ichigo was crying in front of his mother's grave; the heavens had opened up just for him on the day that he was dreading; the first anniversary of his mother's death. He wiped away his tears for the tenth time, with a heavy weight on his heart. The rain continued to pour…but then, it just stopped. Ichigo looked behind him to see the figure of a girl his age holding an umbrella above his head. _

"_Who are you?" he asked, wiping the tears away again._

"_My name is Kasai Ryunosuke." She replied monotonously. At that time, she was considerably smaller, and she wore a grey raincoat with a pair of blue jeans that looked far too baggy for her. Her hair was flaming red._

"_I'm Ichigo Kurosaki." Ichigo replied, standing up to face the girl properly._

"_Nice to meet you. Why were you crying?"_

"_Today's the day…my mom died." He sniffed._

"_I'm sorry." She apologised._

"_It's alright. Why are you here, by the way?" Ichigo asked._

"_I was visiting my mother and father. They're buried a few yards away."_

"_You lost both of your parents? I'm so sorry."_

"_It's alright."_

* * *

><p>Ichigo jolted awake. He had stayed up late to research the Red Dragon, but fallen asleep reading a particularly boring article. Most articles said the same thing; stay away or you die. But according to newspaper articles, the Red Dragon had never killed anyone; the worst she had done was hospitalise someone.<p>

Which was bad enough, but it sure did not warrant the apparent death rumour.

Sighing, Ichigo clicked off of the boring article and looked for another. So far, nothing interesting…and then…

'_The Red Dragon…unmasked__?__'_

Curious, Ichigo clicked on the link only to be disappointed with more theories and speculations on her being the open-mouth woman. But one particular photograph caught his attention. It was apparently taken at 8pm, and it showed a female who dressed exactly the same as the Red Dragon and was sat atop the same motorcycle.

But she wasn't wearing a helmet; it was in her hands.

The photo was taken from a bad angle, so her face wasn't visible. But her tied-up hair allowed a shot of the very side of her face where an unmistakable lightning-shaped scar adorned it from her temple to the bottom of her jaw.

Ichigo thought about the possibilities of a woman with a lightning-shaped scar, but he recalled none. Plus, the photo could easily be a hoax.

* * *

><p>The next day, Ichigo skulked around Karakura town after dark trying to find her; he figured the only way he'd find any real evidence as to her true identity would be to find her in person. He'd been walking around for an hour and no such luck in his search. He sighed, and looked up at the apartment block he was near. Up in the window, he could see Kasai! He'd forgotten Kasai had ceased living at the orphanage, and now lived on her own in Karakura town.<p>

"Kasai!" he yelled up to her. She was doing the dishes, and with the window open, so Ichigo was sure she'd heard him. But she hadn't.

"Kasai!" he yelled again. Kasai looked up for a second, then frowned and went back to the dishes. Ichigo then noticed the headphones in her ears.

Growling with frustration, Ichigo picked up a random pebble and chucked it at her window. The ping of the pebble hitting the window startled her so much she dropped the glass in her hand and swore _very _loudly. She then looked angrily around for who threw it and her eyes found Ichigo.

She flung the window open and screamed down at him, "Ichigo! What in the living fuck?!"

"Let me in!"

"Fuck off! My hand's cut open now!"

Ichigo sweat dropped; an angry Kasai was not a force to be reckoned with. "Please?"

"Fucking fine! Hurry the fuck up, I'm number 19." She then disappeared from the window, presumably to let Ichigo in.

He entered the apartment block and raced up the stairs to find a _very_ irritated Kasai waiting outside of number 19, leant against the doorframe and clutching a bloody hand. For a second, Ichigo blushed; Kasai wore only a pair of _very_ short shorts and a _very _tight tank top.

"Hurry the fuck up, Berry-head." She stalked into the apartment. Ichigo followed and closed the door to her apartment behind him.

To his relief, Kasai's apartment was not as messy as he was expecting. Her living room was small, and had a simple red loveseat separating the television area from the area that she ate in and did her homework in. The kitchen was sort of an extension to the living room; containing the essentials for a kitchen, and cluttered with various bits of washing up, either washed or not.

Off the side of the living room there were two doors, one for her bedroom and one for her bathroom.

"What do you want?" she growled at him; obviously she was not in the mood for other life forms, Ichigo deduced.

"I was just around this part of Karakura, and I saw you in your apartment and thought I'd come and say hi and see how you're doing," Ichigo smiled at her. Over the years they'd drifted apart, so when he did see Kasai it was very rare, and the two hadn't hung out together in years.

"Oh…well thanks, I guess. I don't really get any visitors…"

"It's cool and sorry about your hand – want me to stitch it up for you? Like the old days?" Ichigo grinned. He'd learnt a thing or two about giving people stitches for minor injuries from his dad.

Kasai grinned back. "Sure, and you can stay for dinner too if you want."

"I already ate, thanks, but maybe we could hang out for a while? It's been ages, huh?"

"Sure has, Ichigo, I'll go get the wound-y stuff." She went into her kitchen to find her first aid kit.

"I can't believe you still call it wound-y stuff…" Ichigo shook his head.

"What else am I supposed to call it?" She joked, sitting on the couch and motioning for him to join her.

"A first aid kit, maybe? Anyway, what have you been up to? Still hanging out with that gang?" Ichigo asked, taking her hand and cleaning it; he felt a pang of guilt – the cut did look pretty painful, and it was bleeding quite badly.

"Nah, I quit 'em ages ago, then they got beat up by some other gang. I ain't in the gang life anymore, decided it wasn't my thing anymore."

"Fair enough, how's repeating the year?"

"Not bad actually, and I think I've been quite good – I'm doin' all my work and keepin' on top of things, for once."

"Wow, I'm proud of you Kasai – if you ever need tutoring, or just help with work, you can always give me a call, I'm sure dad and Karin miss you." He said, stitching up her hand.

She laughed. "I'll remember that offer, Kurosaki. So how've you been? Heard ya missed a load of school too."

"Yeah? I've been good, just, er, stuff." He had no real excuse to give her – and he couldn't just tell Kasai about him being a Soul Reaper, she'd probably just flip out.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Berry. My Ichigo's-lying-senses are tingling."

Ichigo grinned sheepishly. "Damn, you have those still? I-it's not…"

She laughed. "I know, you know."

"Kn…know what?"

"I know that you're a Soul Reaper. I've known from day one." She stared him straight in the eyes. Ichigo felt somewhat numb; how did Kasai know that? Who told her? Is she…a Soul Reaper too?

"I'm not a Soul Reaper, but I know lots about 'em. I could always see hollows and all that crap, and when you first became a Soul Reaper…I sensed that too."

"You never told me that…" Ichigo was slightly offended; how could Kasai, one of his best friends, not tell him about her spiritual powers?

"You never told me, either. And when you became a Soul Reaper, you never told me either. ANYWAY. Everything's out in the open, I guess, so let's put it behind us?"

Ichigo sighed. "Alright. So how'd you come you know about Soul Reapers?"

"It was before I met you, I was about seven – just after mom and dad were murdered – two of them found me playing with a little spirit girl and we spoke for a while. I still talk to 'em now and then; their names are Shuuhei Hisagi and Izuru Kira. Anyway, they told me all about hollows, Soul Reapers, the Soul Society and all that kinda crap." Kasai summarised for him.

"You know Hisagi and Kira?" Ichigo cocked his head to the side. He also felt slightly…worried about this situation; as far as he knew, Hisagi and Kira had been lieutenants for a while, so what were they doing in the World of the Living? And why approach a seven year old girl, playing with a young spirit or not, it seemed off to him. There had to be more to this than meets the eye; he'll mention it to Rukia next time he sees her, or Renji.

"You know them too?" Kasai asked curiously.

"Yeah."

"Cool."

There was an awkward silence in the air for a while, until Ichigo remembered why he was lurking about downtown Karakura in the first place.

"Hey, you used to be in gangs, do you know much about the Red Dragon?" He asked.

Kasai's grey eyes widened. "Wh-why did you mention her…?"

"She saved me the other night, and I was just curious as to her identity. So, you know anything?"

"Yes. I know you absolutely should _not_ try to find out her identity!" she suddenly yelled.

"Why?" Ichigo frowned.

"It's dangerous to get involved with someone like her! You never know what might happen! Stay _away_, I'm warning you!" Ichigo noticed the shrillness of her voice, and saw the beads of sweat popping up on her forehead. Kasai was scared. Ichigo rarely saw Kasai scared.

"Woah, calm down…" Ichigo put a hand on her shoulder.

"You don't understand, Ichigo! Stay away, if you find out who she is you'll just regret it!"

"Kasai…are you scared of her?"

Kasai's eyes widened again, and then she relaxed and looked away from him, shrugging his hand off. "I'm not afraid of her…I'm just afraid of what might happen to you if you become affiliated with her."

"Kasai, I'm a Soul Reaper. I can take care of myself." He tried to soothe her worries, although he was very touched – Kasai rarely cared about anyone other than herself.

"It won't just affect you. It'll affect everyone you know," She closed her eyes, "Besides, say you find out – what if you don't like the answer?"

"I don't get what you mean?"

"Never mind…" She sighed.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile, in an unknown place, dirty black shadows swirled and hissed and spat; they converged together to form one being…lots of beings.<p>

"I am…rage…" the first one spoke in a gruff, male voice.

"I…I…I…a…m…"

"Hurry up and finish your sentence, Sloth." A crude male voice hissed.

"S…s….lo…th…" Sloth finished.

"I…I AM DESTRUCTION!" A chaotic female voice shrieked.

"I am Lust…" a smooth female voice whispered.

"Enough, my children," the crude, male voice hissed at the shadows that were forming, converging, "We have but one goal; exterminate the three realms; the Soul Society, the World of the Living and Hueco Mundo. Together, we can destroy them, and then we will rule through _our _world."

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><p><em>TO BE CONTINUED.<em>


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Raven

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><p><em>A raven cawed loudly, as a girl of age seven, with large stitches on the right side of her face and flaming red hair, was playing with another little girl. She, too, was aged seven and appeared normal – brown hair, and brown eyes, nothing unusual about her – other than the fact that she was dead, and had in fact been seven for half a decade. She also could not be seen by normal humans, and had a severed chain attached to her chest, with only two remaining links left to the chain.<em>

_But despite their differences, the two little girls continued to play hopscotch as if one of them wasn't dead and the other's parents hadn't been murdered a mere two weeks ago. _

_From a distance, two soul reapers watched the little girl play, whilst masking their presence from her. They'd been informed that she was very good at sensing things for someone so young, and they were only there to confirm to the man that sent them that she was still alive and well._

_But things don't always happen the way they were planned._

_The little girl with the flaming hair suddenly stood up, and grabbed her ghostly friend by the wrist. "There's something coming!" She yelled._

_The soul reaper's eyes widened, as they searched for a presence – they could sense a hollow and it was heading for the two little girls._

"_Damn it, we'll have to blow our cover, Shuuhei – we can't let Kasai-san die." Izuru Kira cursed._

"_You're right. We'll save the other one two, and perform soul burial after we take down the hollow." Shuuhei Hisagi concurred._

_The two soul reapers leapt into action, shunpoing besides the two fleeing girls and picked them up by the waists; Izuru held the soul girl, and Shuuhei held Kasai._

"_Who are you?! Put me down!" Kasai kicked and screamed at Shuuhei._

"_Sssh, I'm here to save you. Izuru, you take the left." He commanded, running towards the hollow who screeched._

"_**I came for two little snacks, and now I get a feast!"**__ the creature shrieked, charging at the soul reapers._

_But Izuru and Shuuhei were too fast for it. In one quick motion, they sliced the hollow's mask open, and it disappeared._

"_Woah! That was cool!" the soul girl gaped at the two large men after they put her and Kasai down._

_Shuuhei smiled. "It was no problems little miss, you rest now. Izuru, you do the honours." He nodded at his friend._

_Izuru nodded back, drawing his sword from his sheath._

_Kasai stood between the soul girl and Kira. "Just stop right there! What the hell are you doing?!" the little girl demanded._

"_Kasai-chan, it's ok. He's going to send me to a better place; a place where those monsters can't get me. I'll be safe." _

"_B-but…"_

"_I won't forget about you, Kasai-chan, you've been so kind to me. Now please, let me pass on." She smiled._

_Kasai's eyes watered, but she stepped aside. "I-I'll never forget you either…"_

"_Bye, Kasai-chan." The soul girl closed her eyes, as Izuru pressed the hilt of his zanpakuto against her forehead. She turned into a black butterfly, and was gone from this realm; to a better place._

_Kasai started wailing. The two men looked at each other sheepishly, unsure of what to do._

"_I'm terrible with kids…" Izuru whispered._

"_Wh-what's up, kiddo?" Shuuhei bent down to her level._

"_Ev-everyone leaves me! First m-mom and da-ad, and now Y-Yui too…" she wailed._

"_I'm sorry; Kasai, but at least she and your parents aren't in danger anymore. They'll be happy, and they'll be watching over you for a long time." Shuuhei consoled her._

"_R-really?"_

"_Really."_

* * *

><p>Kasai was abruptly woken up from her nap by a tapping noise at her window. Grumbling, Kasai wondered over to the window and opened the curtain; there, on her window ledge, sat a raven. It was pure black, with sleek and shiny feathers; its beady black eyes seemed focused on her as she watched it, full of mystery and intrigue…but Kasai could sense something <em>wrong<em> about the bird. She watched as it continued pecking at her window, then cawed and flew off.

Kasai could not simply ignore such an omen. She opened the window, and retrieved the feather the bird left behind. She then walked over to her couch, opened her diary and placed the feather inside it, noting down what she just saw. After that, she donned her jacket and shoes, and headed out.

Kasai saw the bird fly north, towards the Urahara shoten. She walked quickly, luckily it was still daytime; hopefully that meant less hollows. When she finally reached the small shop, she saw the raven perched on top. It cawed very loudly, and then flew towards her.

Kasai took a defensive stance, preparing herself for an attack as the bird swooped down on her. It cawed once more, then dived and flew in the gap between her legs and disappeared into the distance, leaving yet another feather behind. Kasai relaxed her stance and picked the feather up, walking inside.

At the same time, a figure watched from the shadows of a nearby, hiding its spiritual pressure from her. The shadows near the figure writhed and pulsated with excitement; as if anticipating something.

Kasai was in grave danger, Shuuhei noted as he watched the figure from a distance. He then shunpoed, to report back to the Soul Society. The figure never knew of his presence.

* * *

><p>When Shuuhei reached the Soul Society he headed straight for Ukitake and Kyoraku, breaking into a run.<p>

"Shuuhei-san. You're back quick." Kyoraku smiled at the lieutenant.

"Captain, we have a problem. Kasai, she's in a huge amount of danger. The raven visited her too, and not only that but it lead her to Urahara's shop, then swooped to attack her – it didn't actually touch her, just flew past – but the whole time, one of _them_ was watching her."

Kyoraku and Ukitake looked at each other, concerned. "I see. It appears that Kasai-chan truly is in danger. Shuuhei, please keep watching her. Report back through the communicator devices, and report _anything_ suspicious at all. If they attack her, defend her with your life. Do not let her die." Kyoraku ordered.

Shuuhei bowed. "Understood, Captain." Shuuhei shunpoed away.

"I wonder what they want with Kasai-san." Ukitake commented.

"Perhaps they plan to use her as bait for Kurosaki? Or someone else that cares for her a lot." Nanao replied.

"Nanao, you surprised me!" Kyoraku grinned goofily at his subordinate.

Nanao pushed her glasses up. "Captain Kurotsuchi has finished his analysis of the raven feather found outside of the Squad One barracks. You may want to see this."

* * *

><p>Back in the world of the living, Ichigo Kurosaki – who was just sleeping – had been woken up by a tapping noise at his window. Yawning, he flipped the window open, expecting it to be Rukia or Renji or his father trying to annoy him.<p>

Boy did he receive when hell of a surprise when a shrieking raven burst into the room and clawed and pecked at his face. He yelled in surprise, falling off his bed whilst attempting to remove the vicious bird from his face. But the bird wouldn't let go; it sunk its clawed feet deeper and deeper into his face, whilst violently pecking his face, and beating its wings into Ichigo's temples. Ichigo's feeble attempts to rip the bird off of his face just ended up hurting him, as he yelled running around his room; knocking things off of his shelves.

"Ichigo! What the-?! DAAAD!" He vaguely heard one of his sisters shriek down the stairs.

More yelling and commotion occurred, as both of Ichigo's sisters and his dad attempted to calm down the bird latched onto his face, but eventually they managed it and Karin threw the squawking bird out of Ichigo's window and slammed it shut. Isshin sat a shocked Ichigo onto his bed; he was in a pretty bad way with deep claw marks on his face and neck, and bloody puncture marks on his forehead.

"Wh-what in the world…?" Ichigo finally managed to sputter out, as Isshin began to patch his face and neck.

"I have no idea what just happened either, but earlier I received a rather…interesting report from Kisuke." Isshin told him, as the sisters began clearing Ichigo's things up for him.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. That raven's been popping up everywhere; the Squad One barracks in Soul Society, on top of Kisuke's shop…and outside of Kasai's window."

"What?! Kasai?! Is she ok?"

"She was pretty shaken; it seems it attempted to attack her too, but it didn't actually damage her. You're the first person that thing has fully attacked."

"I don't like this…Kasai might know about Soul Reapers and she might be tough, but no way in _hell_ am I letting her be dragged into this world.

Isshin continued to patch his son up; he was very concerned about this raven business. Not only had it shown up in the Soul Society and places in the world of the living that were associated with the Soul Society, but it actually _attacked _Ichigo. Violently. And the thing's spiritual pressure was very…off. It gave off an aura of…disgust. Isshin would have to watch Ichigo closely, and Kasai.

He also thought about warning the Red Dragon too, but he thought against it – chances are that she already knows about this raven business.

* * *

><p><em>TO BE CONTINUED<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Oooh, a double-whammy of chapters AND the plot thickens. I know this chapter was a lil' uneventful, but the next should hopefully be a bit more eventful. <strong>

**What's the deal with this raven? Who is the shady figure following Kasai? Why is Soul Society so interested in Kasai? And how does Isshin know the Red Dragon? **

**Lol you guys will find out soon.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Blood

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><p>Ichigo had kept to his word about tutoring Kasai. She had a biology project due, and she was never any good at Biology, so asked Ichigo for some help – which he said yes to. Kasai kept looking over her shoulder as she walked to the Kurosaki clinic; it was as if someone, no, some<em>thing<em> was watching her. She picked up the pace, almost running when she saw the clinic in the distance. As she ran, the shadows pulsated; ready to attack if she got too close, but Shuuhei was prepared for such an outcome, with his zanpakuto drawn. He only relaxed when she went inside the Kurosaki Clinic.

"KASAI-CHAN! IT'S BEEN SO LONG! I'VE MISSED YOU!" Isshin Kurosaki yelled, crushing the redhead in a bear hug.

"Is…sh…in…" she choked out.

"Dad! She's turning purple!" Yuzu gasped.

"Yeah, I'm sure Kasai enjoys oxygen. Leave off her, dad." Karin face-palmed.

Isshin (reluctantly) released Kasai, who let out a huge sigh of relief. "Hello Mr Kurosaki." She finally grinned.

"I told yu before, you can call me Isshin! How've you been anyway?" Isshin grinned back at her.

"I've been good, what about you?"

"Fantastic!"

"Dad, just please with the dorkishness." Ichigo sighed, coming from upstairs. His face was covered in bruises and stitches from the bird-attack yesterday.

"Ichigo! What in the _fu_- I mean, what in the _hell_ happened to your face?!" Kasai gaped at him.

"He was attacked by a raven, it was really scary!" Yuzu told her.

"A raven…?" Kasai frowned. She didn't like the sound of this, first her and the Urahara Shoten, now Ichigo – and he was attacked, pretty badly.

"Anyway, it's no big deal so let's just get on with your project." Ichigo beckoned her to go upstairs.

"Catch you later, Isshin, Yuzu and Karin! Was nice seein' you all again." Kasai waved as she followed Ichigo to his room.

She laughed, plonking herself onto Ichigo's bed; not a single thing had changed since the last time she'd been in it.

"What're you laughing about?" Ichigo chuckled, sitting on the chair at his desk.

Kasai's smile quickly faded when she saw Ichigo's face. "It looks real sore, Ichi."

"Huh? Oh right…yeah, it is pretty sore. Are you ok by the way; I heard it went after you too."

"Yeah…I'm fine though. It's so weird how it's showin' up all over Karakura…"

"And Soul Society."

"It was in Soul Society too?"

"Yeah, the squad one barracks."

"Fuck, man…I reckon something bad is going to happen soon…" Kasai bit her lip nervously.

"I wouldn't dwell on it too much, what'll happen will happen. More importantly, why do you dress so weirdly?" Ichigo frowned, pointing at her red checkered skirt, with black leggings that were artfully ripped, studded belt and black tank top. She also wore her usual studs in her ear, and her hair was in a messy, over-the-shoulder plait.

"Why not?" She winked at him.

Ichigo sighed and rolled his eyes. "Anyway, Biology…"

* * *

><p>They spent the next two hours doing Biology work, until they eventually got bored enough to decide to take a break from it.<p>

"So, how many detentions you had this week?" Ichigo teased her.

"Er…like three."

"Not bad, usually you got like nine."

"Yeah…my behaviour has improved, I must say." Kasai grinned.

"Oh, by the way, I saw the Red Dragon the other day." Ichigo told her; ok, so it wasn't strictly true – he just saw her zoom down his road at like 1 that morning, but whatever.

Kasai raised an eyebrow. "I'm assuming you didn't find any new clues to her identity."

"No…"

"Ha."

"Whatever. I know you know something, Kasai." He eyed her suspiciously.

She narrowed her eyes in response.

"C'mon!" he groaned.

"Ichigo, no, she's dangerous. I think this break has gone on long enough…"

"Don't change the subject! C'mon, tell me!"

"I…er…" she sighed deeply, "She…tried to kill me once. Her power…it was nothing I'd ever felt before. She completely paralysed me, and I was powerless to stop her and she left me for dead. I was in the Hospital for eight weeks after that. Please, don't pursue her identity anymore."

Ichigo blinked in surprise. He had no idea that the Red Dragon tried to _kill _Kasai! Was she the person the Dragon hospitalised? Either way, Ichigo felt awful for pressing that kind of information on her.

"I'm sorry, Kasai. I won't press it any further." He apologised.

She smiled at him. "It's alright, you didn't know."

"Hug?"

"Fuck off."

"…"

* * *

><p>On her way home that night, Kasai felt strangely happy. She was worried for a number of reasons, of course, but her evening with the Kurosakis had been the most fun she'd had in a <em>long <em>time; living on her own and being a year behind everyone else left Kasai feeling very isolated from other people, especially seeing as she was no longer in a part of a gang.

But she still couldn't shake off the feeling she was being watched, and it scared her.

She could feel the hint of a malicious presence, but couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. She did know that it wasn't Hollow, however. She picked up the pace a bit; she was just about to go through that awful tunnel underneath the train station that was dark, creepy and _no-one_ could see you inside it unless they were there too, which most likely meant you were going to get mugged.

"Oh, how I _love_ downtown Karakura." Kasai grumbled to herself as she entered the creepy tunnel.

She walked quickly; but at least she couldn't feel those damned eyes on her anymore. She sighed with relief, feeling as if a large weight had been lifted her shoulders. She stopped for a second, breathing in the cool night air – sort of – and closed her eyes.

They snapped open when she heard the sound of a chainsaw.

She looked up to the floor of the tunnel and saw a _freaking chainsaw_ sticking through it. She sprinted for the entrance to the tunnel, but wasn't fast enough.

"Target spotted." A robotic voice said behind her.

Kasai froze on the spot. She was numb; paralysed with fear. _I'm going to die…_

"Kasai Ryunosuke, aged 17." The voice said, _it was fucking analysing her_.

She turned around slowly, to get a good look at her murderer. It was a large robot, with the shape of a large dog or a wolf. It's tail was a chainsaw and its body was covered in blades.

"My name is 5-I-R-1-U-S, codenamed Sirius." It said in its synthetic voice.

Kasai just stared; was it trying to be _polite_? She shook her head, she couldn't let it end here. She turned around again, and started sprinting.

"Target it attempting to run. Commencing termination."

The word rang in her ears as she sprinted for the mouth of the tunnel, she made it – only to find herself faced with a dozen other robots taking the forms of other animals.

"Kasai Ryunosuke; there is no escape. Either myself or my comrades will terminate your existence, for that is our mission tonight. Failure will result in our own termination." Sirius said.

"Heh…then I guess I'll give you a message to your owner, _dog_ – FUCK YOU!" She yelled hysterically, flipping the dog off.

"Commencing target termination."

The ringing of the chainsaw and a shrill scream was the last thing Kasai heard, blinding pain in her stomach was the last thing she felt, the metallic tang of blood was the last thing she smelt and tasted as her world turned to black.

* * *

><p>Shuuhei had been waiting for Kasai to exit the tunnel for some time now, but no such luck yet. He was beginning to get worried; it wasn't that long of a tunnel.<p>

And then he heard it. A scream of pure terror and pain, and then silence.

"Fuck!" He swore, shunpoing to the ground and sprinting through the tunnel. About halfway down the tunnel, there was a hole in the ground. Shuuhei, panicking, shunpoed to the end of the tunnel, and his heart stopped for a moment when he saw her.

She was lying on her back on the ground that was red with her blood. Her skin was deathly pale, her stomach a red, gruesome mess. Blood leaked from her lips.

But she was still breathing.

"Shit!" Shuuhei swore again, picking her up carefully; luckily the wound didn't go _all _the way through her. He shunpoed again to Urahara's shop.

"Hisagi-san! What in the-?! Quick, come in!" Urahara yelled in panic, stepping aside for him.

"Tessai-san! I need you, help us stop the bleeding! Yuroichi, get Orihime _now_." Urahara ordered as the two of them brought Kasai's dying body through the shop, dripping scarlet blood. Both immediately jumping into action; Yuroichi shunpoing from the shop, and Tessai grabbing a bunch of towels and preparing some kido.

"Hisagi-san, there isn't much you can do here, so please go to Soul Society and report that Kasai-san has been attacked. Return with Renji and Rukia, please. Oh, and _that thing_." Urahara ordered.

Shuuhei nodded, and opened the Senkaimon to take him back to the Soul Society. Throughout his entire journey he could do nothing but swear at himself for failing; he allowed Kasai to be attacked, and she could die…and he didn't even see who had done it.

* * *

><p>"Ichigo…" His dad entered the room from taking a phone call in the other room.<p>

Ichigo, who was watching tv with his sisters, turned around to face him. Isshin Kurosaki was uncharacteristically pale, and he had a serious face on.

"It's Kasai-chan. She's…been involved in accident. It's serious." Isshin placed a hand on his shoulder.

Ichigo stared at him. "…What kind of accident?"

"She was attacked. It's very serious, you need to get down there – Kisuke and Tessai are with her, and Orihime too."

"I see. I'll go now." Ichigo threw on his coat and shoes and sprinted out the door, heading straight for the Urahara Shoten. He swore at himself; he should've walked her home!

Ichigo growled and picked up his pace, his foot splashing water all over his shin. At the time, he thought she'd be fine; she's tough and she goes through downtown Karakura everyday…but given the current situation – with all the raven business – he should have walked her home to be on the safe side.

Ichigo burst into the shop to see Yuroichi, Rukia, Renji and a blood-soaked Shuuhei Hisagi sitting around a table.

"You're very…wet, Ichigo." Yuroichi broke the silence first.

"Is Kasai ok?" He glared at the group.

"We don't know; Orihime and Tessai are doing what they can." Yuroichi said.

"Until then, you may as well take a seat." Rukia motioned for him to sit down, which he did – despite wanting to see Kasai.

"So what happened? Why are you all covered in blood, Hisagi?" Ichigo asked.

The soul reaper in question blinked and looked up at him; it seemed he had been in deep thought. Just then, Ichigo noticed the grey katana in his lap.

"I…I found her." Hisagi told Ichigo.

"I'm glad that you did…but why were you in the World of the Living?"

"I was assigned to watch over her after this whole raven business started."

"You obviously didn't do a very good job." Ichigo glared.

Shuuhei looked away, but didn't reply.

"Ichigo, there's no need to blame Lieutenant Hisagi – he can't watch her every second of the day." Rukia scolded him.

"Don't take your anger out on him." Renji backed Rukia up.

"Why are you two here anyway?" Ichigo changed the subject.

"Kisuke summoned us."

Ichigo nodded. Just then, Urahara entered the room carrying blood-soaked towels.

Ichigo jumped up. "How is she?"

"Calm down, Ichigo. Kasai-san is very injured, Orihime and Tessai have managed to seal the wound, but she'll still need plenty of time to recover; she lost a lot of blood and could have died tonight. They're just finishing cleaning her up, then you can see her. But first, we should talk about what happened." Urahara placed the bloody towels in the corner of the room and joined the group at the table.

"Shuuhei, your account of what happened please." He said.

"I was watching her walk home, and she had to go through a long, underground tunnel. She was taking her time, so I started to get worried. Then I heard the scream, and that's when I found her. I didn't see her attackers, unfortunately. I carried her straight here." Shuuhei explained.

"That's too bad…did you see anything unusual?" Urahara asked.

"…There was a hole in the ground of the tunnel."

"So the enemy came from underground." Yuroichi cloncluded.

"This just keeps on getting weirder…" Renji sighed.

Just then, Orihime and Tessai entered the room.

"She's going to be fine, Ichigo." Orihime smiled, trying to reassure her. Ichigo gave a half-hearted smile.

"I'm going to sit in with her." He said, standing up.

"I'll sit with you." Rukia offered.

"It's alright."

Ichigo entered the dark side room and saw Kasai sleeping in a futon. Her bloody clothes sat in a pile next to her. He plonked unceremoniously on the floor next to her. She was really pale.

"Kasai-san…I'm sorry I didn't protect you. I'm sorry I dragged you into my world. I'll protect you better from now, so don't worry. Oh, and I'll find whoever did this to you and I'll kill 'em…unless you wanted to first." He spoke to her, gently picking up her hand.

Her hand was freezing cold, and slightly bloody. Ichigo sighed deeply; the one friend who he thought was separate from his world of blood and fighting was now lying unconscious; she was almost killed simply for being affiliated with him. He hated himself.

"I'm sorry, Kasai…"

* * *

><p><em>TO BE CONTINUED<em>


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Dreaming

* * *

><p><em>Caw! Caw! Caw!<em>

_Groggily, Kasai opened her eyes. The sky above her was an unfamiliar, mass of purple darkness, lashing out, and swirling together. She could hear the cawing of ravens, their shrill screams ringing in her ears. She could feel the dead-weight of her own body, and the cold numbness of death fast approaching. She could smell the decaying corpses of the graveyard around her. Death; she could see it all around her, feel it in her body, she could smell it and she could hear it._

_Kasai's body was heavy, she felt numb and cold. But she knew she had to move. She had to force herself into a sitting position; but she couldn't. All she managed was to roll herself onto her side; facing eight dark palaces; or maybe they were blades of grass in a weird shape._

_She was too tired to tell._

* * *

><p>Kasai forced her eyes open. The first thing she saw was Ichigo's face, pale-white and his jaw-slack. <em>Damn idiot,<em> she thought, _he looks like a fucking goldfish._ She then looked around her to see everyone staring at her with the same expression; some of them she didn't even know!

Then it hit her.

"I'm al…" her words trailed off as she looked down to where she was sure there was a gaping wound in her stomach. There wasn't; instead, in her left hand, she held a box-cutting knife. Her right arm was sliced open and pouring blood.

"Wh…how did that…I'm so confused…"

"We should stop that arm bleeding." Kisuke Urahara, the first person to come to his senses, said. Kasai turned to Ichigo, who was staring at her as if she had just given birth to a litter of kittens.

"Ichigo, what in the living _fuck_ is going on?" she hissed.

"You…I…I don't know…" he said slowly, looking away from her.

The knife in her hand was taken from her, and she felt a stinging pressure on her bleeding arm as Urahara held a bandage soaked in alcohol on her wound. The people around the table started moving; Ichigo went outside, accompanied by a girl with short, black hair and a guy with long, red hair and tattoos. Orihime came closer to her to help Kisuke, Yuroichi went to another room, Shuuhei left to take a phone call and the two random guys Kasai had seen around before, but had no idea who they were, left to go to another room as well.

"Orihime…what happened?" Kasai asked the orange-haired girl.

Orihime smiled, but Kasai could still see the worry and confusion in her eyes. "Well, you've been unconscious for, like, three days and you just woke up…it was really weird though, you walked out of the room you were in and casually sat with us at the table all covered in blood like that."

Kasai looked down at herself again; she looked like she'd just murdered someone. _No wonder everyone was staring at me like that_. Kisuke got up to follow Yuroichi after she'd summoned him.

Orihime began to heal Kasai's arm using her shun-shun-rikka. "I reject."

"Woah! That's cool." Kasai blinked as the cut on her arm closed and stopped bleeding.

Orihime smiled again. "A small cut on the arm is easy to heal; but healing Ichigo after he's gotten into a fight? Much harder." She giggled.

Kasai smiled back, but it was forced. She still hated the idea of Ichigo being a Soul Reaper; he was pretty much the only good thing in her life. Except for her motorcycle. Which she crashed last week…

"He hates that you got dragged into this, you know." Orihime said softly.

"Huh?"

"Ichigo. He hates that you were hurt. He's not left your side, until twenty minutes ago."

Kasai smiled. "Dork…"

Just then, Ichigo came back in, accompanied by that girl and the guy Kasai had never seen before.

"Done! Your arm's healed. So is your stomach, but not completely so take it easy." Orihime chirped.

"Thanks." Kasai grinned in response.

"Hey, you ok?" Ichigo asked awkwardly, keeping her distance from her.

Ok, that was _really_ starting to piss her off now. Putting her hand on her hip, and tossing her hair over her shoulder she glared at him.

"I don't have the plague, you know."

"Huh?" Ichigo replied, wincing as she glared at him.

"I said, I don't have the plague, you know. You're keepin' away from me like I do." She raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry..." he mumbled.

Kasai rolled her eyes. "Anyway, fill me in – how'd I not die?"

"Hisagi-kun saved you." Orihime smiled at her.

"Oh yeah, I thought I saw him…what's he doing here?"

"He was assigned to watch over you after that incident with the raven." The black haired girl said in a monotonous way.

Kasai sweatdropped. "Who're you guys?"

"My name is Rukia Kuchiki, and this is Renji Abarai," Rukia motioned towards the red-haired Soul Reaper, "We're friends of Ichigo's from the Soul Society."

Kasai nodded. "Kasai Ryunosuke, although I'm assuming you probably already knew that. Damn dog…" she growled under her breath.

"Dog?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, that thing that tried to kill me! It was this weird robot dog. Had a fuckin' chainsaw for a tail. I always did hate chainsaws…"

"…You're aware you sound 100% insane." Ichigo face palmed.

"Fuck off, Kurosaki." Kasai's temple throbbed.

"What happened anyway?" Rukia asked her, "It was rather confusing when you came to sit with us a short while ago."

"That…ha…I have no fuckin' clue. As far as I remember, I got attacked by that dog-thing, and then had a weird dream that made me think I was dead, and then the next thing I know, Dork-berry and everyone else is starin' at me like I just gave birth to a litter of kittens." Kasai elaborated for her.

"Heh, Dork-berry." Renji sniggered under his breath. Ichigo glared in response. They had all sweat dropped at her kitten analogy.

"Anyway," Rukia began, "What _we _recall is that you were attacked by an unknown source, and were unconscious for three days. Just twenty minutes ago, you woke up and came to sit with us, staring blankly into space and covered in blood and holding a knife."

"…Sounds like somethin' from the Exorcist." Kasai groaned.

"You watch too many movies…" Ichigo commented.

"Kasai," Yuroichi re-entered the room looking incredibly serious, "That dream you spoke of, do you remember it?"

Kasai jumped. "Er…I remember parts…why?"

Kisuke had also returned and looked rather concerned too, and at that same moment the two men Kasai didn't know came back into the room, accompanied by Shuuhei – who was panicking.

"Guys, _huuuge_ emergency-"

"Kasai, we _need _the details of that dream!"

"What is going on?"

"The fuck?"

"SHUT. THE. FUCK. UP," Kasai yelled, "One. At. A. Damn. Time."

There was a moment of silence.

"…She's feisty, ain't she?" one of the two men Kasai didn't know commented. She glared at him; a demonic red aura surrounded her as she stared down the man. He had electric blue hair, and the same colour eyes, and had a weird jaw-thing on his…jaw.

Kisuke cleared his throat. "Kasai. Dream details, please."

"Er…I don't remember much…other than it was, like, cold…there was a graveyard, naturally accompanied by creepy ravens…oh, and weirdly shaped grass…"

Everyone sweatdropped again.

"Kasai, I'm certain you belong in a mental hospital." Ichigo commented, earning him a thwack on the head.

"Ravens, huh…" Kisuke thought aloud.

"It seems that these ravens are popping up everywhere." The other of the two men Kasai had not met before commented; he had jet black hair that reached his shoulders, and was bizarrely pale with green eyes.

"I think we should talk about this later, there is a _major _shit storm brewing in the Soul Society right now." Shuuhei broke the tension.

"Hey Shuu-tan!" Kasai grinned in an uncharacteristically non-angry way. Shuuhei gave a half-hearted wave back; he was busy focusing on the phone in his hand.

"What's happening?" Renji asked.

"Not sure. Some sort of attack; we need to get there ASAP."

"Alright, I'll prepare a Senkaimon and we'll all go – Kasai, you'll have to come with us."

"Why?" Kasai asked.

"NO WAY." Ichigo protested at the same moment, standing in front of her suddenly.

"It's dangerous for her to stay here alone. She'll be safer if she comes with us; after all, this enemy seems to want her dead for some reason." Yuroichi said.

"I won't allow it!" Ichigo yelled defensively, "She's injured as it is, taking her to the Soul Society will only aggravate her injury! Right, Orihime?"

"Actually…her injury should be fine…"

"Ichigo, I enjoy living. Plus, I wanna see the Soul Society. I'm going, like it or not." She defiantly stuck her chin out at him and folded her arms.

"I hate it when you do that…" Ichigo growled, unable to argue against that ridiculously stubborn pose.

She smirked. "I know."

"Here, Kasai-chan, change into these." Orihime smiled, handing her some clothes; a pair of white trousers, a white t-shirt and a white hoodie.

"Oh, right…blood…thanks." Kasai took the clothes and went to the closest room to change out of her currently bloody outfit.

Meanwhile, as the rest of the group waited for Kasai to change, Yuroichi gave Ichigo a warning.

"Ichigo. I'm worried about Kasai, keep an eye on her."

Ichigo frowned. "Is it to do with her weird trance-like state earlier?" he asked.

Yuroichi nodded. "We obviously don't know the full details, but Kasai was obviously being controlled when she did that, but before she came to join us, she had written a rather disturbing message on the wall…"

"Oh, naturally it gets worse!" Ichigo groaned.

"…with her own blood…"

"Ah, hell!"

"What did it say?" Rukia asked.

"The message read: '_The Ravens swoop for the Reapers' heads_'."

"…That sounds…ominous…" Kasai said, only catching that snippet of the conversation. Everyone jumped out of their skin.

"K-Kasai-chan!" Orihime squeaked.

"What? And what's with this ominous message anyway? Lemme guess; I wrote it in my own blood when that thing happened earlier?" She guessed.

"…How did you know?" Yuroichi asked.

"Ghost movie logic, and oh, hell. I am a walking cliché." She grumbled.

"Could be worse, your head could start spinning…" Ichigo commented.

"DUDE. DO _NOT _REMIND ME OF THAT MOVIE." Kasia yelled.

Ichigo smirked.

"I worry about you two." Orihime giggled.

"I think everyone does, Woman."

"Eep!" Kasai jumped; she'd forgotten about those two guys.

"What?" The black haired one, who'd just spoken, raised an eyebrow at her.

"…Erm…nothing…"

"Oh, I guess you don't know these guys, Kasai-chan! These two are Grimmjow and Ulquiorra! They're arrancars. Well, Grimmjow is. Ulquiorra's just…"

"Weird." Ichigo filled in.

Kasai sweatdropped. "Right…er, hi. Kasai Ryunosuke, freaky human. At your service. Figuratively."

"Kasai, you leave the worst first impression. Ever." Shuuhei face-palmed.

She flipped him the bird.

"The senkaimon's ready; it's time to go!" Kisuke announced.

* * *

><p>"Shit!" Izuru Kira hissed as he felt himself fly into the wall behind him. This thing was seriously powerful, for a dog.<p>

"It is useless to attempt to fight me, Soul Reaper Izuru Kira." The synthetic voice of the robot dog said, the sound of the chainsaw on the end of its tail ringing again. Kira glared at it, blood pouring from a wound on his forehead, and another on his shoulder.

"Tell me, why are you here?" he asked the dog.

"I am here on orders from my Master. My Master is here to help overthrow the Soul Society. That is all I can reveal to you, Izuru Kira."

"How do you know my name?"

"You, along with Shuuhei Hisagi, were assigned to watch over Kasai Ryunosuke when she was a little girl."

Kira's eyes widened at the mention of Kasai's name. "What do you know about her?"

"I know that she was a potential threat to my Master's cause. The Lord wanted her eradicated. I carried out those orders."

"Wait…Kasai's dead?" Kira choked.

"Yes. I killed her. She died slowly, painfully and completely alone. I ripped open her stomach and she was left to bleed to death in the cold rain."

* * *

><p><strong>That was a depressing ending. Even though Kasai isn't **_**actually **_**dead.**

**SO.**

**SIRIUS (who totally isn't based off of Bladewolf from Metal Gear Rising…) actually believes he killed her. Silly Sirius.**

**The Ravens – who are they, and what da fawk do they want with Kasai? And why do they want to overthrow Soul Society?**

**AND LOOK FORWARD TO KIRA v SIRIUS!**

**Oh, and as for Ulquiorra, I just love him. He had to be included. And Grimmjow…but its practically canon that Grimmjow is still alive, so neh.**

**Hope you enjoyed! :)**


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